Villa Ospo

Villa Ospo was designed in 1927 for Walter Jennings. Jennings had joined the Club in 1926, and quickly rose to a leadership role, assuming Presidency after death of Walter James (his brother in-law). Jennings contracted with John Russell Pope in 1927 to design his Jekyll retreat. Pope has been considered one of America’s finest classical architects, whose important works included the Jefferson Memorial, the National Gallery of Art, Constitution Hall, the National Archives, the Temple of the Scottish Rite in Washington, D.C., mansions for William K. Vanderbilt and Marshall Field, and campus plans for Yale and Johns Hopkins Universities. Villa Ospo is a slight departure from Pope’s typical classical form, but does hint at elements of classicism bleeding through. Typical of Pope’s work, most of Villa Ospo was probably designed by members of his firm after initial discussions between Pope and his client (Jennings). Pope would leave the details to his staff, and then add final touches to the final product before presenting the plans.